Use this LibGuide of resources to investigate the causes that led up to the American Civil War. With particular attention to the 1850's, examine the social, cultural, and economic factors present in both the Northern and Southern region of the county.
Image Source: Yankee Volunteers Marching Into Dixie from http://memory.loc.gov
Political cartoon about the Fugitive Slave Law by Edward Williams Clay, 1851. In addition to numerous other factors, decisions made by a Supreme Court dominated by proslavery justices in the mid-1800s helped exacerbate tensions between the North and South. In particular, the Taney Court's upholding of the Fugitive Slave Law in the 1859 Ableman v. Booth ruling angered Northerners, upset with federal interference in state matters. © CORBIS
Image courtesy of Dr. Gayle Olson-Raymer, Humboldt State University. http://users.humboldt.edu/ogayle/hist110/unit3/political.html
